Homemade Yogurt WITHOUT a Yogurt Maker

I LOVE YOGURT! I have loved it for years, but didn't start making my own until about six months ago. It is so easy and satisfying to make and you do not need any special equipment besides your oven and a a candy thermometer. I'm actually making yogurt right now while I'm typing this post. I recommend making it while you do something else because the part that takes the most time is just slowly waiting for the milk to warm up and then waiting more time for the milk to cool. The first few times I tried to make it I watched the milk closely to make sure I got to the right temperature. Now I know the recipe so well, I don't even check the temperature until It's around the right temperature--I just know when it's ready.

I started making yogurt because we were going through 3-4 quarts of yogurt per week and the cost for organic cream top yogurt was almost $4.00 per quart! The cost for a gallon of whole organic milk is also around $6 and there are 4 quarts in one gallon of milk so it is around 1/3 of the cost of yogurt for me to make my own!

Here is the recipe:

Homemade Yogurt Without a Yogurt Maker

1/2 cup plain yogurt for the culture (must contain live and active cultures)

Half gallon of milk (not ultra-pasturized)

Directions:
Heat one half gallon of milk over medium heat, stirring often.
You are going to heat the milk until right before it starts to boil. It will look a little frothy on top and will give off a little bit of steam. The milk needs to be brought up to 180 degrees Fahrenheit.

At this point you should turn on your oven to "warm" or around 185 degrees F.

The next step is to cool the milk. Let it set until it cools to 110 degree F. If you want you can cool it faster by placing pot in a sink of cold water. I've found it takes about an hour to cool if it is just cooled at room temperature.

Once the milk is cooled to 110 degrees, mix it with the culture. I like to do this in a separate bowl, stirring in a little milk at a time to the yogurt culture to make sure the culture is thoroughly mixed through the milk. Now cover the bowl and place in your oven. Turn the oven off.

The cultures will do their job and turn the milk into creamy delicious yogurt in about 4-6 hours. Then put your bowl in the fridge for another 7 hours and then your yogurt is ready to eat. You can pour off the whey (clear liquid) and reserve it for other purposes like home lacto-fermentation. The more whey you drain out, the thicker your yogurt will be. I reserve the whey for other purposes and when I have it around take a teaspoon of it with each meal to help with digestion.

This recipe was taken and adapted from http://www.yogurt-everyday.com

Deviled Eggs with Yogurt!

I had a going away party for my friend Amy last night. I wanted to make devilled eggs, but was in sort of a hurry and didn't have time to make my own mayonnaise. I checked the ingredients of the different bottles of mayo at Whole Foods (even organic ones) and did not find any with acceptable ingredients, so I decided to make my devilled eggs with yogurt. When I got home from the store and searched online, I indeed found recipes similar to what I wanted to make. My recipe is based on this one from Group Recipes.

Guests at the party raved about these devilled eggs. I used fresh dill from my new little container garden which I planted this week. I purchased the free-range eggs from Rare Earth Farms at the State Farmer's Market. I buy most of my free range eggs from vendors at the State Farmer's Market and from my favorite source, Spain Farm located here in Raleigh. Anyway, here is my recipe:

12 hard boiled eggs
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon raw apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon parsley flakes
dash cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon paprika, plus more for garnish
1 teaspoon fresh dill chopped, plus more for garnish

Cut eggs in half lengthwise then remove yolks and set whites aside.

Mash yolks with a fork then blend in remaining ingredients.
Refill whites using 1 tablespoon yolk mixture for each egg half, or you can pipe the yolk mixture into the whites to make a more decorative look. Garnish with paprika and dill.

Avent Ferry Lentils

I came up with this recipe the other day and it was fantastic! Who knew turnips, lentils and bacon could be so good! When I finished I knew something was missing, something sweet--so I added raisins which made the perfect balance of salty and sweet. I named it after a road near where we live in Raleigh.

This recipe meets a few criteria of mine:
1. It uses many local, seasonal ingredients from the Raleigh State Farmer's Market (it's May now).
2. It uses some of our bulk legumes (not joking, we have about 100 lbs of beans in storage right now. We have bean dishes about four times a week now. I am searching for many ways to prepare beans and might soon gain the title of the "bean queen".)
3. It uses really healthy ingredients like turnips, which are less starchy than potatoes and are powerful cancer fighters and lentils which are a good source of protein, iron, phosphorus and copper, and a very good source of dietary fiber, folate and manganese.

I want to stress the importance of soaking your lentils or other legumes in baking soda and water before cooking. We have discovered that the baking soda makes them so much easier to digest and virtually eliminates all gas associated with eating beans. Great news!

I used my new food processor for most of the chopping in this recipe. The carrot, onion and turnip were so finely chopped, we barely knew they were there. Since my children don't care for turnips, it worked out quite nicely that they didn't notice the turnips and just ate up their yummy lentils. Here is my recipe:

Avent Ferry Lentils

4 cups dried lentils
1 tsp baking soda

1/2-1 lb nitrate-free bacon cut into bite-sized pieces
1 onion chopped
2 ribs celery chopped
4 carrots peeled and chopped
2 large or 4 small turnips peeled and chopped
2-4 cloves of garlic minced
2 medium yellow squash quartered and sliced
1 cup raisins
1 quart chicken broth
mixture of chopped fresh herbs (I used parsley, thyme, oregano and chervil from my herb garden)
salt and pepper to taste

Soak lentils in warm water with baking soda for approximately 7 hours, drain, rinse and set aside.

In a large pot cook bacon for about 15 minutes so that it begins to get crispy, stirring occasionally, add onion, cook for a couple minutes, then add the celery, cook for another couple minutes. Add the carrots, turnips and garlic, cook for about 5 minutes. Add the squash, raisins, lentils and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Skim any foam that comes to the top. Cook until the lentils are tender, about an hour. Add the fresh herbs, salt and pepper to taste.